Cabbage Roll Casserole

This is an old standby type of recipe. When I'm too lazy to actually make cabbage rolls - or Pigs in a Blanket, as we used to call them as kids - this casserole is super easy and super fast. And super yummy! I think I originally heard about this version of the recipe from Kristy.

Basically it's a cabbage roll that's been deconstructed and made into a casserole - without all the work of forming meat rolls and wrapping them individually in cabbage leaves.

Ingredients:

1 small head cabbage
1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
1 onion
1 32oz can diced tomatoes
1 64oz can V8 Vegetable juice
1 cup wild rice (I use Lundberg Wild Rice Blend) - optional
1 tablespoon Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1 capful Mrs. Dash Seasoning

Directions:

Brown the ground beef and season with Lawry's Seasoning Salt. Drain excess fat and return to saucepan. Add onion and cook until tender. Add the diced tomatoes, the Mrs. Dash seasoning and a portion of the V8 juice (you'll use about 1/2 of the can right now). Also add the rice at this time. You can use brown rice instead or quinoa would work here too. Or you can leave out the rice if you don't want the added carbs.

While the meat and tomato is simmering (you're not cooking this mixture completely, just giving it a head start for the oven). Chop the cabbage into small pieces (about 1-2" chunks). Add all the cabbage to a 9x13 baking dish. Pour the meat mixture over the cabbage. The pan will be very full - use a spoon to wiggle the meat mixture down into the cabbage pieces. When you're able to fit it all into the pan, add more of the V8 juice to make sure it has enough moisture. You can add more juice throughout the cooking process if you find it looks too dry.

I reserved some additional V8 juice for the "packing" process. I always package casseroles into individual serving size bowls so my meals are easy to grab from the fridge. So when I packed up my casserole into bowls, I added about 2 tablespoons of extra juice to the bowl. This helps the casserole remain moist when reheating.

Enjoy!